1 Million People Have Used Post-9/11 GI Bill

Submitted by Megan Rogers on November 11, 2013 - 3:00am

More than one million veterans, service members and their families have received tuition assistance and other benefits from the post-9/11 GI bill, Jill Biden announced Friday. The post-9/11 GI bill began in August 2009 [1]and the Department of Veterans Affairs has since spent more than $30 billion in tuition and benefits for veterans, service members and their families. "The post-9/11 GI bill is one way to help make the transition into civilian life a successful one," said Biden, wife of the vice president, in a teleconference Friday.

The millionth beneficiary of the bill, Steven Ferraro, is studying communications at Middlesex County College in New Jersey. Ferraro served in the Army from 2003 to 2013 and was deployed to Iraq in 2008. “Going back to school after serving in the military is a very big challenge, especially trying to manage school with a family,” he said.